Advantages

Disadvantages

This Shampoo Doesnt Sting!

If you are a regular reader of my reviews you will have noticed that I do not think much of the Bodyshop's range of shampoos and conditioners in fact, I hate them. But for my birthday I got a big Bodyshop gift set from my mom and it had a shampoo and conditioner in there so I had to try them out. I had never tried this Nettle "scent" before so I hoped that this would be the one to change my mind about their hair products and I cant tell you how shocked I was when this turned out to be a great product! Obviously this review will focus on the Nettle Shampoo which was simply great.

Now this doesnt smell great to be honest. But having said that it doesnt smell as bad as you assume it will. Rather than smelling floral and sort of like grass (like I thought it would) it actually has quite a sweet, fruity aroma which is pleasantly surprising to say the least however unlike all the other Bodyshop products this one smells really artificial and fake which doesnt appeal to me. But because the results of this shampoo are so great I dont mind to much about the smell overall.

Now another thing that put me off trying this for a while was that it is designed for oily hair and I dont have oily hair in the slightest so I thought this would leave my hair greasy like all the other shampoos from this shop have. I needn't have worried because this only made my hair look really shiny, full of volume and squeeky clean. The only other slight problem I had with this shampoo is that it left my hair feeling quite dry and knotty after I had washed it out but I think most other shampoos do that to my hair when used without conditioner so I dont consider it to be a major problem. I definately recommend using the matching conditioner alongside this shampoo. But to be fair even the shampoo alone is very good. It will leave your hair clean, feeling fresh & smelling lovely (enough!)I certainly recommend this to everyone, even if you have been disappointed with other Bodyshop shampoos, this will change your mind!

I think this is definately worth the £5 price tag because you dont have to use much at a time so it will last you for ages. Im glad Ive tried it out and Ill be buying it when I want to treat myself again!

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A good cleanser but a rather dull experience

Many, many years ago, as a school kid and when The Body Shop was über-cool I fell in love with their mint shampoo. A nostalgic moment found me back in The Body Shop only to find that the mint shampoo was no more but that it had been replaced by a nettle shampoo. Oh well, I'd give it a go. The nettle shampoo is designed for normal to oily hair types, the same as the mint variety. The shampoo is oil free and contains a nettle extract to naturally help reduce any excess oil on your hair and scalp.

I was rather expecting a green shampoo (and stored in a brown plastic bottle there was nothing to dispel this myth) but in fact the shampoo is clear. The shampoo is a nice consistency, runny rather than creamy.

The shampoo lathers very, very well, even in a relatively hard water area. The feel was quite luxurious with a rich, bubbly lather rather of a type associated with an expensive shampoo. It was really easy to make sure all of the hair and scalp were getting washed.

The smell is fresh and earthy. It's not a prettily scented shampoo, it just smells fresh and natural, reminding me of a country walk after the rain.

The shampoo rinses well and I didn't find that my hair was tangled (as others have reported). I don't tend to use conditioner but my hair actually felt as though I had. My hair felt soft as it dried and any product build-up seemed to have been washed away.

I'm normally a "first thing in the morning" washer of hair - I feel my hair needs it, but with this I could have got away with a second day were it not for habit. My hair looked shiny. There was no lingering scent nor any adverse skin effects.

The nettle shampoo is available in trial sized as well as 2 full-sized bottles and its cost is on a par with many premium brands of the types found on the shelves in Boots. I've found it good value for money and effective. It's perhaps not as zingy and alluring as the original mint version that I was looking for but I would buy it again.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Sniff it if you get a chance to!

When the time came for a new shampoo a few weeks ago, I decided not to try a Lush shampoo as I thought they might be a little unusual and not what I wanted so I turned to their nemesis The Body Shop thinking they would be just like all the shampoos I have used in the past so not much of a change.

My hair is past my shoulder blades and very thick. The ends are very dry due to the abuse that my hair has been put through with me doing home colours and even home highlights. I haven't put any chemical dyes on it since May 2006 now and only use henna to put colour in to hide my greys. My roots are the opposite to my ends, after a day of not washing they are greasy! Yuck! So I need a good shampoo to make my hair really clean so that it doesn't look dirty before the end of the day.

I looked on their website, as I always do my research and there were only three options. Ginger, anti dandruff shampoo. Hmmmmm not for me, anti dandruff shampoos always give me dandruff. I know, backwards! What can I say, I like to be different. Honey, moisturising shampoo. Sounds good but it is only the ends of my hair that need the moisturising so that option is out. The only other on the site is Olive glossing shampoo. I hate the smell of olives but if it will work I will try it, I think to myself. Anyway the smell of the conditioner should hide the smell of the shampoo.

I thought that I had made up my mind as the glossing shampoo was obviously the best choice for my hair, of the three on the website. The thing was that I wasn't going to the store to buy it, I was sending my other half off with the money and a list. I gave him the list but also had another request. You see I had heard of their nettle oil balancing shampoo and thought that would be a better option for me. I thought it must have been discontinued but luckily asked the other half to have a look and see if it was in store and that if it was to get that instead.

Well as you can guess as this review is for nettle shampoo and not olive it was there and he did buy it for me.

All the shampoos come in a range of sizes and I opted for the 250ml bottle, which costs £5.50. Not the most expensive shampoo there is it must be said but not cheap either.

While he was there I also got him to buy the honey moisturising conditioner. I don't know if there is a conditioner to go with the nettle shampoo but thought that with my dry ends it would be best to get the moisturising version as it might help them feel less like straw (Previously reviewed).

A few days later I tried the shampoo and conditioner together for the first time.

The shampoo comes in a dumpy plastic bottle, which is green in colour with a large cream coloured label the front of the label shows the Body Shops logo in dark green along with "Nettle oil balance shampoo. Oil reducing, revitalising shampoo with astringent nettle leaf extract. Normal/oily hair." There is also the same information in French. 250ml. Next to this there is a picture of nettle leaves. Then on the back of the bottle the label has more information in much smaller writing. In many languages there is "nettle leaf extract helps reduce excess oil without stripping the hair. Community trade honey moisturises. Oil-free formulation leaves hair healthy looking and retains that just washed look. If product gets in eyes, rinse with clean water." As well as the bar code, use within 12 months of opening symbol, recyclable symbols, list of ingredients (see end of review), the company reference numbers, address, made in the UK and website address. It has a flip top lid with the Body Shops logo embossed on it.

The smell of this shampoo I have to say is far nicer than you would expect. It smells of fresh herbs and grass. A natural and rather calming smell. Anyone that likes the smell of freshly cut grass will love the smell I am sure.

The shampoo itself is clear! I expected it to have at least a tinge of green to it considering what is meant to be in it! Nope, clear. A little more watery than I would have liked. It looked like runny hair gel in the palm of my hand.

Washing my hair with this shampoo was the same as any other, rinse my hair well to make sure it is all soaking wet then lather the shampoo through making sure all of my hair got washed. I always wash my hair twice to make sure that is exceptionally clean, so I repeated the process and made sure every trace had been rinsed out before using the conditioner on the ends of my hair only.

Using this shampoo made my hair tangle more than when I wash it with other shampoos. An unfortunate complication. It lathers very well giving a very rich and luxurious amount of bubbles. It rinses easily away. Apart from the tangling it was a nice experience. The smell of the outdoors filled the bathroom and was rather invigorating and was good at taking the morning blues away.

My hair certainly felt very clean, cleaner than with some other shampoos I have used previously. It is almost like it is a detoxifying shampoo, to remove build up from the hair.

However when I had finished with my shower, towel dried my hair and came to combing it, it was horrendous! The ends were not as bad as the lengths because I had used conditioner on them but they still weren't easy to untangle. It took me ages to get it all combed through and in some kind of order.

My hair did feel very clean all day but the tangle problem did not go away at all. Every time I touched my hair I found knots. It needing brushing all the time and just wasn't in good condition because of it. All the brushing and combing is likely to have caused some damage I would think.

After such a bad start I thought I would try with a different conditioner but no it was still the same. I had to get a new shampoo, as I just couldn't carry on with it. I am too worried that it will damage my hair in the long run. So this is now in the bathroom ready for my other half to use when his Lush Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo runs out

Now I have a shampoo from Lush and another from there on the shelf ready and waiting to be used. Unfortunately I haven't enough confidence in the Body Shop range of shampoos to try another from them but I am glad that I did give it a go even if it did just teach me that they aren't suitable for me.

I think that those with short hair might find this a very good shampoo. It smells good, makes you hair clean, is reasonably priced and isn't tested on animals. For those who have long hair I would NOT recommend it! It is the worst shampoo I have used on my hair, which is a shame, as I really did love the smell of it.

The body Shop has stores just about everywhere and you can also shop online but not for this shampoo as it is not offered on the site. They can be found at www.the bodyshop.co.uk UK delivery costs £3.25 or more depending on how much your shopping weighs. Their delivery service is very good I have used it and once received my goods within 36 hours!

The Body Shop do not test their products or ingredients on animals and also buy through their version of fair trade known as community trade so they support people in villages far away who would usually be paid a pittance for their produce. They are good for your conscience that is for sure!

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Hate it!

I recieved a bottle of this shampoo as a gift and I thought that with it being a Body Shop product it would be very good, but I was very disappointed with it.

According to the Body Shop it's an oil-free shampoo that helps to remove excess oils without stripping the hair, leaving it shiny and healthy looking. Well, that's not the experience I had of it, but anyway....

It comes in a clear bottle which you can get in 3 different sizes - the little travel size 60 ml bottle costs £2.50, which I personally think is very steep for such a tiny bottle. Then you can also get a 250ml bottle for £5.50, and a 400ml bottle for £8. The bottle is easy enough to use, the plastic is sqeezable so you can squeeze it to get the last drops out.

The shampoo is fairly runny though not overly so, and has a horrible nettle smell which frankly just makes your hair smell like rotting veg, not nice at all. It doesn't lather up that well and feels kind of strrange on the hair, like it's coating it, but it is very easy to rinse out.

It gave my hair that horrible squeaky clean feeling that immediately makes me go 'uh-oh', and when it was dry it looked just awful. Despite what they say this did strip my hair really badly and it was left looking very dull and feeling dry and lank. I tried it a few times to see if it got any better, but it only got worse, and it ended up in a really bad state, looking really dull and stripped of all it's shine and everything about it just looked awful.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

I was given a free sample of shampoo and conditioner in The Body Shop last week from their new hair care range, shampoos powered by natural ingredients. I've had bad experiences with shampoo from both Body Shop and Lush in the past so was a bit wary of trying this, but when I'd used the sachet I was back to the store *the next day* to buy a whole bottle of the stuff. The sample I was given happened to be the Nettle variety which is for normal to oily hair types, now whereas I haven't really got oily hair I do wash it every day (sometimes twice) because it feels greasy sometimes even if it doesn't look it. The shampoo is oil free and contains a nettle extract to naturally help reduce any excess oil in your hair and scalp. The shampoo itself is clear, instantly dispelling the notion that it's going to be green. Come on! The bottle's green, nettles are green. Wouldn't you expect green shampoo? Never mind, not important... It's a nice consistency, clear and runny rather than a cream shampoo which gets me wondering about how well it's going to lather because in my experience clear shampoos don't bubble up well at all. My worries are unfounded, my hair was wringing wet when the shampoo went on and it lathered beautifully. It was a thick lather full of small bubbles like you get from washing up liquid and felt really luxurious, I could feel the lather working on my scalp as I massaged it through my hair. I've no idea what a nettle smells like but I'd reckon this is pretty damned close. It smells fresh and earthy, there's nothing pretty about the scent of this shampoo but it smells completely natural. Which is good, I use perfumed bath and shower goodies so don't really need another fragrance in my hair. It's all about layering girls. After rinsing, my hair felt really clean and I even managed to get a comb through it without resorting to the kids detangler. I hadn' t used conditioner the first time as I wanted to get a true picture on how well the shampoo worked on its own. Although nothing is mentioned on the packaging about it, the shampoo does seem to have its own natural conditioning action. My hair felt soft as it dried and squeaky clean, it was pretty much tangle free too which is a minor miracle for me. The shampoo rinsed out easily taking all the residue that had built up from my anti-frizz serum, the serum leaves a dusty appearence on my scalp but after using the nettle shampoo my scalp felt clear and refreshed. My hair continued to feel clean and soft all day and I got away with not washing it again until dinner time the next day, I usually feel like my hair needs washing at least every 12 hours but I didn't get that 'polluted' feeling at all. My hair looked shiny and healthy despite not using conditioner, I didn't get the greasy feel which irritates the hell out of me and even after getting caught in the rain (no coat let alone brolly!) my hair still had the clean feeling after it had dried... again. My hair smelled beautifully fresh, no particular smell just a crisp clean scent. Another important consideration for me is the fact that this shampoo didn't make me itch, I can use more or less any shampoo on the market but now and then *something* will make me start scratching and I'll have to buy something gentle like Johnsons. This is a fairly gentle shampoo and feels mild as it's cleaning. While it cleaned my hair well, it would possibly be too mild if you use a lot of styling products but if you're near a Body Shop pop in and ask for a free sample and try it. The Nettle shampoo costs £4.50 for a 250ml bottle, which is on a par with Charles Worthington and the like. I'd say it represents good value for money as you really don't need a huge amount to give a good wash with plenty of lather. The new range also includes a shampoo specifically to care for the scal p and one for moisturising, each item having a partnering conditioner. Add to the fact that it's community traded (fair prices for the growers and everyone involved) and not tested on animals - you can pop your halo on top of gorgeous looking hair.